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Experts at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) said Mangkhut is maintaining its strength, which is the same as a category five hurricane.

A category five hurricane is the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale and is described as a storm which causes complete roof failure on many residences and industrial buildings.

Wood frame structures will face heavy and irreparable damage and only a few structures are capable of surviving intact.

Practically all trees would be uprooted and there would be total, long-lived power and water outages which could last months.

Super Typhoon Mangkhut is the equivalent of a category five hurricane (Image: TROPICAL TIDBITS)

According to the JTWC, the system will track across the South China Sea, passing south of Hong Kong and will make landfall near the border of Vietnam and China.

Teams from the International Committee of the Red Cross are on high alert in northern Luzon, the Philippines where the storm is predicted to reach on Saturday morning.

Medical and emergency response teams are on standby, with more than 1.7 billion pesos ($31.45 million) of relief goods prepared as Mangkhut, known locally as Ompong, grows closer to the Philippines.

Senator Richard Gordon, the chairman of the Philippines Red Cross, said: "We're worried for the 10 million people in the Philippines living in the path of this destructive storm, including those who have been displaced several times due to the monsoon rains last July and August,

The Hong Kong Observatory wrote on its website: "Its track and wind strength near the centre may change under the influence of the terrain of Luzon, but it is expected to remain in the category of super typhoon after entering the South China Sea,"

"Although there are still uncertainties in the subsequent track of Mangkhut and its distance from Hong Kong, Mangkhut’s extensive circulation will bring significantly deteriorating weather to Hong Kong on Sunday with frequent heavy squally showers.

"Seas will be very rough with swells and low-lying areas may be affected by storm surge.”

The strength of the super typhoon grew rapidly on Tuesday, reaching the equivalent of a category four hurricane.

Mangkhut then made landfall over a Pacific island chain called the Marianas, to the north of Guam where rainfall measured 167mm in just 12 hours.